I believe that the "second home" or "vacation home" test requires that there is a bathroom. Years ago I had a motor yacht which qualified as a second home under IRS rules. I don't know if the rules have changed now.

To qualify as a home, it must have separate bedroom, kitchen and toilet.

The term “dwelling unit” includes a house, apartment, condominium, mobile home, boat, or similar property, which provides basic living accommodations such as sleeping space, toilet, and cooking facilities”.

It is always interesting to watch a discussion morph from the original question, which was about the solar tax credit. Now we are discussing the merits of minimal vs. maximum capacity with a lean toward comparing one trailer with another. If this thread lives on it will be fascinating to see where it ends.

I do not begrudge David's taking advantage, or exploring how to benefit from the existing tax credits, but I am philosophically opposed to them. The new technologies do not rise up because of some taxpayer support. They come from basic research discoveries that happen long before any government entity ever hears of them. The commercialization of new technologies should follow a more natural path and everybody would be better off. Think solyndra, or ethanol, or....

So, how about a bed sheet hanging from the ceiling to create "dedicated" spaces and make my Scamp in to a "home" and get some money out of you, other friendly taxpayers?

To qualify as a home, it must have separate bedroom, kitchen and toilet.

The term “dwelling unit” includes a house, apartment, condominium, mobile home, boat, or similar property, which provides basic living accommodations such as sleeping space, toilet, and cooking facilities”.

Consider that a one-room studio apartment or a one room cabin would qualify as a home, and they don't have a barrier separated 'bedroom'. So its an interesting question as to what actually defines 'dwelling unit'

Consider that a one-room studio apartment or a one room cabin would qualify as a home, and they don't have a barrier separated 'bedroom'. So its an interesting question as to what actually defines 'dwelling unit'

Actually, it's very well settled among tax professionals. It doesn't have anything to do with barriers or hanging sheets. I think people are just trying to be silly and have a laugh at this point.

1) Not knowing much about solar power, but it seems that 320w would be preferable to 100w for anyone expecting to do some boondocking, especially if AC or heat is needed. Can someone in the know give a price comparison of 100w vs. 320w - total cost including batteries and installation? I am clueless, but definitely want solar when I purchase my unit. I would love to be totally capable of living off grid.
2) A 30% tax credit would seem like a drop in the bucket compared to what the richest 1% get away with on their taxes. Not condoning cheating on taxes, and never made enough to worry about it, but I have no problem with a 30% tax credit for solar on an RV, considering what some people get away with by playing the tax deduction game.
3) Did anyone have the definitive answer on if the tax credit is legal?

Problem with that argument is that you can forget using solar for AC or heat.
When you get your trailer you'll need 2,000 watts or close to it for the AC.
And even a small space heater will need about 1,000 watts.
Roughly the same range for a microwave, toaster, or coffee maker.
What solar is useful for is running your lights, which should be LEDs, the fridge control circuit, the fridge itself will be running on propane, water pump, electric element in the water heater if it has one, chargers for your electronics,.....did I forget anything?

Everyone I know of with a Casita finds that 100 watts solar is adequate for all of that. Maybe an Oliver needs more?

1) Not knowing much about solar power, but it seems that 320w would be preferable to 100w for anyone expecting to do some boondocking, especially if AC or heat is needed. Can someone in the know give a price comparison of 100w vs. 320w - total cost including batteries and installation? I am clueless, but definitely want solar when I purchase my unit. I would love to be totally capable of living off grid.
2) A 30% tax credit would seem like a drop in the bucket compared to what the richest 1% get away with on their taxes. Not condoning cheating on taxes, and never made enough to worry about it, but I have no problem with a 30% tax credit for solar on an RV, considering what some people get away with by playing the tax deduction game.
3) Did anyone have the definitive answer on if the tax credit is legal?

I don't know of anyone with an egg who expects to run A/C with their solar as it is basically extremely difficult. You would use a propanefurnace for heating.

See no reason why you can't take the tax credit assuming you meet the bed, bath, kitchen requirements. You can look that up and fill out the proper forms and you can also talk to someone at the IRS if you think there might be any problem with it as far as your particular trailer situation.

Escape is presently using a 150-watt panel ($850 including roof installation and monitor.). If someone wants to run the microwave, he gets a 1500-watt inverter and it will also run other 120v items when boondocking. That is for a sometime camper, not a full-timer.

For your purposes, you may want two panels which Escape has also done, charging about $1500 for a two-panel set-up (without inverter.). You would need to get exact info from them. Hope that gives you an idea.

1) Not knowing much about solar power, but it seems that 320w would be preferable to 100w for anyone expecting to do some boondocking, especially if AC or heat is needed. Can someone in the know give a price comparison of 100w vs. 320w - total cost including batteries and installation? I am clueless, but definitely want solar when I purchase my unit. I would love to be totally capable of living off grid.
2) A 30% tax credit would seem like a drop in the bucket compared to what the richest 1% get away with on their taxes. Not condoning cheating on taxes, and never made enough to worry about it, but I have no problem with a 30% tax credit for solar on an RV, considering what some people get away with by playing the tax deduction game.
3) Did anyone have the definitive answer on if the tax credit is legal?

I'll second what Walt said. You can't run the AC off an inverter. Even if you got a 2500 watt one, you'd find that AC will draw so many amps that your batteries (yes, you'd need more than one) would deplete very quickly. The solar would not be able to keep up.

If you want to run AC when you're boondocking, just get a capable generator. Cheap to operate and actually possible.

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"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."

Thanks all, I'm totally ignorant when it comes to solar power, and how to power off grid. I've got a lot to learn and this board is a huge resource. I do know i will absolutely need is AC at some point, as well as heat. I didn't know that solar wouldn't run either very long.